How to deal with a Tengu
by NicotineGum
Summary: [KantaroHaruka] Things were going well for the two, till one evening Kantaro got drunk, and thought it was Haruka he was kissing.
1. ichi

Tactics – a fan fic

Standard disclaimers apply. Copyright protected. Yada yada.

--

_Oh that would be so fi-ne, _Kantaro sighed dreamily, his eyes glazed over at the images his mind conjured. _We could take it nice and slow this time, just like we always have. No one to worry about walking in on us, no one to steal our attention away. Haruka would have his mind completely on me and there'll be just me and him. Alone. Together. _He sighed again, and his breath hitched and caught, and he hiccupped. _Oh dear, _he thought giddily, _I must have had a little too much to drink. _An unstable arm reached out to grab the bottle, fingers closing in uncertainly around the neck. It took an extraordinary bit of effort to bring it close to his face, and he squinted to make out how much sake he had left. _Kora? _Kantaro pressed his face to the cool glass, _Doesn't look like there's any left! _His entire body jerked as he hiccupped again. _I didn't know I'd drunk so much. Saa, if Haruka finds out…_his lips curled up in a mischievous smile as he imagined exactly what Haruka would do if he found out.

"Throw me in the pond most likely," he mumbled, slumping down in the chair, "and give me a death of cold." He sniffed and wriggled around, head and shoulders sprawled on the table. _I really shouldn't have drunk so much. How am I going to get home in this state? _The bottle slipped out of his weak grasp and crashed loudly on the floor. Numerous heads snapped round to glare at him, but the pale-haired boy was too caught up in his thoughts to notice, or too drunk to care. Indeed, he threw them all an unrepentant grin, before turning around and snuggling into himself. _It's pretty cold tonight. And I haven't paid the bills. Oh well, we'll just have to make do with cuddling. _

The thought of cuddling with a certain black-haired tengu made him flush a deep red. His skin prickled at the thought, and he felt an all-too-familiar warmth inflame his body from the very tips of his fingers to the very end of his toes, all pooling together in a sensuous medley at a particular region. _Oh, Haruka, _he thought wistfully, his mind completely clouded by lust, _do you know how much I need you? _

He groaned when a hand trailed lightly down his spine, and he shivered in anticipation. _Haruka, ka? _He smiled as his eyes fluttered close of their own accord. Another hand joined its counterpart, this time trailing the inside of his thigh. Kantaro's breath hitched and he hiccupped, eliciting a soft chuckle from his assaulter.

Blearily, in the back of his mind, Kantaro noted how the chuckle was very out-of-character, and not like Haruka at all. But he succumbed to the sensations of hands tracing light patterns on his body, and arched forward when a palm pressed gently on a part of his anatomy that was getting more heated and rigid with the moment.

"Haruka…" he moaned softly, "not here in public, you goose."

"There's nothing to be ashamed of is there?" a voice whispered in his ear, so close that his skin tingled at the warm puffs of breath on the already sensitized area. A tongue flicked out to lick the inside of his lobe and he giggled uncontrollably.

"No…" he choked out between giggles, "nothing to be ashamed of." _Not if it's you, _he added, barely holding back a strangled cry as long, talented fingers grasped at his rock-hard member. _Never with you. _

And he surrendered completely to his passion.

--

Haruka strode purposely down the snow-laden street towards the local pub, at least, it vaguely resembled something of a pub. They sold drinks there. Strong, unaltered sake of the purest type. And it stank. Hurt his keen senses. It was suffocating, and he could keel over as the scent hit him, even if he was just passing by. He was never one for alcohol. The smell was overpowering, and he could never quite get past its reek to actually taste it. Kantaro, on the other hand, indulged himself occasionally with a bottle, even if he attested he was allergic. It made him break out in rashes. So why then had he gone off that evening to the pub?

His strides lengthened and his pace quickened. Something was wrong, he could feel it.

--

Kantaro groaned softly when soft lips pressed against the back of his neck. It was a sensitive area, something they'd both discovered the first time. He was very ticklish and even the slightest of touches would render him helpless in Haruka's arms. He wriggled slightly, and turned his head around. Those soft lips caught his immediately in a kiss, and when they pulled apart, he panted, breathless. Fingers stroke the back of his neck and his hand clutched tighter at the other's shirt. His eyes were heavy-lidded, barely open, but something caught his eye. Crimson orbs snapped open in alarm when his lust-filled brain registered what it was. Horror filled him when realization dawned on him.

_No, _his mind protested violently, _it can't be! _

There, not ten feet away stood Haruka, stock-still, arms rigid at his side. And his eyes, oh his eyes! Kantaro did not want to think about those eyes that stared accusingly back at him. He felt cold all of a sudden and his body stiffened. Those hands that were touching him in all the right places…

…were not Haruka's.

Desperate to explain things, he made to move towards the other, but the tall figure abruptly turned away and walked out the door. Kantaro wanted to call out. To tell him to wait. To try to explain himself. But he found himself speechless, a peculiar lump in his throat and something that was threatening to squeeze the life out of him.

Several streets away, Haruka could hear the shattering of his own heart.

--

Kantaro stared despondently out his window, twirling his pen absently. The manuscript lay forgotten on his desk, and the lunch Youko-chan had brought up remained untouched. Reiko-san hadn't come by today. Come to think of it, she hadn't come to haggle at him about the deadline for quite a while now. _Maybe she knows, _he mused half-heartedly, _it's not like I'm even trying to hide anything. _He sighed.

The door slid open. Youko-chan. He braced himself immediately for another telling-off. It's hard enough to buy food, he could almost hear her saying already, and you're wasting it! Mou, her hands would go to her hips and she'd scowl at him, her pretty face all scrunched up as she glared accusingly at him, you act as if we've got all that money to throw away! You're not earning anything just sitting there and mooning over god knows what!

But the reprimand never came. Instead, a low baritone wafted over to where he sat petulantly at his desk, and his body stiffened in recognition.

"If you're not going to eat any of the food we give you, don't expect anymore coming." The voice was flat and emotionless as he bent to lift the tray where it lay unmoved since Youko had set it down some hours earlier.

His shoulders were tense as he sat at attention, no longer slouching but sitting ramrod straight, all senses on the alert. He dared to hope.

Haruka straightened up, tray in one hand and coolly stepped out the room, sliding the door back in place.

Where he couldn't see, Kantaro's shoulders slumped in dejection that spoke of a hope crushed.

--

"Kan-chan!" Youko began, voice uncharacteristically grim as she stood in front of him, arms crossed resolutely as she eyed him with all due seriousness.

"Youko-chan," Kantaro essayed a smile, though it came out feeble and weak. She was certainly not going to believe him if he told her he was all right and that there was nothing wrong with him.

"Don't 'Youko-chan' me!" the sprightly fox-demon shot back, "If there's something that happened between the two of you, you'd best resolve it at once!" Kantaro blinked blankly back at her and she snapped, "Oh don't think I don't know! I'm not as stupid as you make me out to be! Something's happened between you and Haruka-chan and you'd best do something about it, the sooner the better! I can't stand watching you mope around in your room and having to walk into him at every corner!"

Kantaro blinked more rapidly in confusion this time. "Huh?" he managed brilliantly.

"He might be better at hiding his feelings than you are," Youko told him, all traces of previous indignation gone, "but he still reads like an open book." She scratched her nose, reconsidering. "Well, sometimes anyway."

The master exorcist nodded more to himself than in acknowledgement. "Sou ka," he offered her a proper smile this time, "arigatou, Youko-chan."

The girl sniffed disdainfully, now that her job was done.

"I'm going out with Suzu-chan. We won't be back till late, and unless the snow piles up, we're staying at her house. For tonight." She said the last words pointedly and Kantaro got the hint. He was expected to clear up all misunderstandings before tomorrow.

"Yes ma'am!" he saluted, feeling revived all of a sudden.

--

_Yosh! _He told himself, prepping himself up to confront the very person he'd been avoiding for the past week or two. _Tonight I will explain everything to him! _And, upon gathering enough courage, he ventured out of the room for the first time in a fortnight, in search of the most handsome ogre-eating tengu of all.

He didn't have to go far. Said handsome tengu appeared from within the kitchen, looking as immaculate and perfect as usual. Kantaro felt his heart skip several beats when their eyes met.

_Now's my chance, _he told himself determinedly, _just tell him what happened. Tell him I'd thought that it was him who was…_he flushed at the thought, _holding me. That it was all a misunderstanding. He'll understand. Haruka will understand. _Comforted by the thought, he opened his mouth to speak.

"Ano, Haruka," he began, somewhat haltingly, his voice wavering when the other gazed impassively back at him, and he had to force himself not to look away. "What happened was, ano, it was all a misunderstanding." He bit his bottom lip as he continued, somewhat nervous under the unwavering scrutiny. "I'd had a little too much to drink and I well, thought it was you."

The taller figure just stared right back at him, probably contemplating what to say in response. He settled for bowing his head, eyes trained on the floor. "Sou ka." Kantaro almost whooped silently with joy. Haruka wasn't mad at him! He understood! The pale-haired boy would've danced right then and there but then Haruka looked up and his eyes were cold as they regarded his master. "But you don't have to explain yourself. It is your business what you do." He stepped past the shorter boy, and his words cut through the heart as he continued, "It does not concern me in the least."

An arm shot out and held him in place before he could move. "Haruka," Kantaro replied grimly, "let me explain." And, as an afterthought, he added, "Please."

The other nodded, at the same time eyeing the hand on his arm with evident distaste.

"I was drunk. I thought it was you, believe me." There was a begging undertone to his words, that called for Haruka to understand. He didn't answer.

"Haruka, believe me."

Beautiful black eyes narrowed and he nodded slightly in response. "I understand."

Kantaro was only too pleased with the situation to realize what had just transpired between them. He only beamed fondly at the other before wrapping his arms around the figure. "Thank you, Haruka."

He didn't stiffen, in fact he didn't react at all to his master's embrace. Instead, all he said was, "I have no choice." And even that was spoken so softly that it evaded Kantaro's hearing all too completely.

--

The professional exorcist sat on the veranda, humming softly to himself. All was perfect with the world. Haruka wasn't mad at him anymore, Haruka was his once more (not that he'd ever doubted it before), Haruka was home alone with him that night…large crimson eyes widened comically at the realization. Haruka was home alone! With only him around! There was only the two of them!

_Baka! _He chided himself, practically jumping to his feet in his flurry, _What are you sitting around for?! There's no time to waste! _That said, he rushed off to find the object of his affections, knowing full well where he would be this time of the night.

--

"Ne, Haruka." Kantaro siddled up closer to his tengu, fiddling with the red ribbon around the other's neck playfully. "Youko-chan and Suzu-chan are out shopping with Reiko-san. What do you propose we do?" His tone was teasing, as he let the question hang, before giving the ribbon a light tug to let the other know exactly what he had in mind.

Haruka brushed his hands away roughly, causing the other's eyes to widen in surprise as he stepped aside and stalked off in the general direction of his room.

Leaving Kantaro to deal with the bottomless pit on his own.

--

"Naze?" he mumbled into the pillow, "Naze da? He said he wasn't mad anymore. He said he understood. Then why? Why did he push me away?"

Making up his mind, he set off to confront the tengu and give him a piece of his mind. _I am his master, he cannot refuse me! _

Still, he hesitated outside Haruka's door, his hand hovering over the door handle. _What if he doesn't want to listen? _Angrily, he pushed the thought away. _No, _he told himself, _he must._ That said, he slid the door open, just a tiny crack, but enough for him to see into the room while avoiding detection at the same time.

What he saw made his heart stop. Haruka was there, certainly, but with him was a long-haired, green-eyed, beautiful, not-all-that-unfamiliar stranger. Instinctively, his protective/possessive nature kicked in and he was about to slide the door open the rest of the way and demand an explanation for the other's presence in his tengu's room so late in the day, but something held him back at the last moment. The two of them were sitting side by side, heads bowed together as they engaged in quiet conversation. There was nothing suspicious going on. Haruka would never betray him, he was confident of that. But as he watched, to his utmost horror, Sugino pulled Haruka into his arms and held him tight, and the oni gu'i tengu did not only not push him away, he actually returned the embrace! The nerve, when he didn't reciprocate his hug earlier!

Kantaro shut the door loudly, not caring if he startled the couple. He ran back to his room, as fast as his legs could carry him, and shut his own door, leaning heavily against it. The sound of blood rushing was loud in his ears, and his vision was blurred by the pooling tears in his eyes.

"Baka…" he whispered, his right hand fisting weakly, and he slid to the floor in a crumpled heap, pulling his knees to his chest. His body convulsed violently as sobs wrecked through him. A single tear found its way down the pale, lovely cheek.

"Haruka no baka."

--


	2. nii

Tactics – Chapter 2

By Nicotine Gum

* * *

"Oni gu'i!" Sugino leaped to his feet as soon as the door slammed shut, "That was Kantaro!" He stared wildly at the door, as if fearing some demon would emerge.

"And?" Haruka was still seated calmly on the floor, oddly calm in spite of the circumstances.

"And, and…" Sugino's hysterical voice trailed off to something just above a sheepish mumble, "and." He finished lamely.

"You don't make sense," Haruka snorted at the other, making the short-fused kami bristle at the directed insult.

"That was a minor slip! I'm not always like that and you know it!"

"Hnn." The tengu nodded absently, pointedly not paying the other any more attention than he deserved.

"Oni gu'i!" Sugino glared vehemently at him, "No matter how handsome you are, I won't forgive you so easily!" Haruka stared blankly back at him and Sugino smirked inwardly. There now, he had the other's complete attention now. Really, Haruka was so easy to bait. Oh well. His gain. "But of course, I'm still more handsome than you are, just so you know."

Haruka's blank, uncomprehending stare did not waver. Sugino snapped.

"Oh you are so SLOW sometimes!" he huffed impatiently, "Really! I wonder what Kantaro sees in you!" Immediately he regretted his words. At Haruka's irritated look, he hurried to remedy the situation. "Anyway, before we were interrupted, what was I saying?"

It worked, miraculously enough. Haruka's face relaxed into its usual disinterest and he even smirked. "I can't remember. You talk so randomly it's hard to follow."

No, Sugino would not let him have the satisfaction of grating his nerves. Unfortunately, he did, and did a good job of it at that, and it distressed him to no end. Haruka could get under his skin like no one else could…and probably under his sheets as well. Sugino shuddered at the thought. No, not now. He would not be distracted! A quick glance at the tengu showed him to be leaning easily against the wall, his lean form silhouetted by the moonlight, and apparently deep in thought.

"Oi." He barely startled him. Haruka only turned to regard him coolly as if he hadn't actually made to startle him. "No seriously, what was I saying?"

Black eyes twinkled faintly with amusement. "I was serious too. I can't remember."

"Oni gu'i!"

He cocked his head slightly. "Something about Muu-chan?"

Sugino's eyes lit up. "Oh yes! Muu-chan!" he clapped his hands enthusiastically before sagging suddenly to the floor. "She's not feeling too well these days."

"Youkai can fall sick too," Haruka pointed out bluntly.

"I know, but she isn't ill. It's more like," he frowned prettily, screwing up his nose and all, "she's upset about something."

Haruka stared at him as if he'd sprouted a third wing. "Can she actually do that?"

"Why not?" Sugino shot back defensively, "She has feelings too!" When Haruka shrugged nonchalantly, his voice lowered to barely above a whisper, "Ne, oni gu'i, it's way past time for you to leave."

Haruka stared at his hands, looking slightly troubled. "I know. I should have left long ago."

He shook his head. "Iya. I should never have stayed."

"You shouldn't have," the kami agreed, "but you did, and that's all past now. What are you going to do now is the question we should be asking here. Humans and monsters were not meant to get along. You know that."

Haruka nodded, his countenance darkening by the second. "I know."

"Does he really mean all that much to you, this…boy?" the words were spoken gently, yet they tore at his heart as if the other had said it in malice.

Haruka looked up wearily, his face suddenly changed by grief. "I don't know…" a hand reached out to clutch at the kami's robes, "…I really don't know."

Sugino did the only thing he thought was appropriate. Haruka was asking for confirmation, for certainty; something only another like them could give. So he did. And he did it gladly and willingly.

--

His touches were soft, his kisses gentle. He wasn't wanting, or needing, he was giving. It was so different from the times with Kantaro, where the other would be so needy it actually worried him sometimes. Those embraces, and those kisses that spoke of such a desperate _need..._ Haruka enjoyed his lays with Kantaro, certainly, but this was different, and he more than welcomed the change.

He was reacting, that he knew, and he was reacting positively, judging from the soft smile on Sugino's face as he rained butterfly kisses down his chest. Yes, this was what he wanted, he thought as his eyes fluttered close and his fingers tangled themselves in Sugino's long, silky hair. This was what he needed, he thought, as he arched forward in response to warm lips around his length.

--

When morning came, Haruka found himself tucked in nicely, a white feather placed delicately on his table. Sugino had left him a gentle reminder that there was something he had to do.

Slipping out easily from under the sheets, he noted how he suddenly felt so much lighter, and more powerful at the same time. Indeed, he had stayed with humans for too long if just one night with a kami could rejuvenate him so much. He had to be careful. If he stayed any longer, he could risk becoming just another tengu, with no special powers. And that, he thought firmly, could not happen, not if he could help it.

With renewed strength at hand, he prepared himself for what was to come.

Of course, things are always easier said than done.

--

Knock knock.

Kantaro pulled the sheets over his head, intent on blocking out the sound. Curse the daylight, it was blinding him! Curse the birds, they were bursting his eardrums with their loud twittering so early in the morning!

Knock knock.

Curse the stupid person who was knocking on his door so early! Really, was the world all that inconsiderate? Didn't anybody realise that he'd gone through the whole night without a wink and would appreciate very much if he was left alone?

Knock knock KNOCK!

Oh the person sure was persistent! Must be Youko-chan, he deduced, probably wanting to know if things are okay. Well, he thought crossly, they most certainly are not!

The door slid open loudly and someone stepped into the room. Kantaro tensed. Something told him it wasn't the fox-demon.

"Kantaro." There it was, the low baritone that always sounded so sweet to his ears. Kantaro tensed under the sheets, and prayed silently for the other to go away, even as part of him hoped…for something.

"I want you to release me." His entire body went cold, and he frosted completely at the words spoken aloud. "Did you hear me? I want you to release me."

"Why!" Kantaro shot up like an arrow from a highly-strung bow.

"Because I shouldn't be here."

"Why not?" Kantaro's voice was desperate, rising quickly with every word, "Is this about what happened?"

"No," Haruka answered coldly, "as if something like that would matter."

Kantaro's eyes flashed angrily, even as tears filled his eyes. "Then why does it? Tell me, Haruka! If it doesn't matter, why does it?"

The tengu glared frostily at his master, and something sparked behind those lifeless eyes. "It doesn't."

"It does. You've never been good at lying Haruka, and you can't lie to me. It matters to you, what happened, but you just won't admit it!"

"And if it does?" Haruka shot back, "It doesn't change the fact that I want you to release me."

"Yes," Kantaro whispered softly, "Yes it does." He looked up and met Haruka's gaze straight on. "Because then you wouldn't."

Haruka snorted, averting his eyes from the other. "You think too highly of yourself."

The words were meant to hurt, but the smaller boy only shook his head sadly. "No, I don't. Don't say things you don't mean, Haruka. It's not like you."

"You don't know me," Haruka told him flatly.

"I think I do. I knew you even before I met you."

"That's not possible."

"It is. If you've been searching for something all your life, it is." A certain softness had come to his eyes, and he gazed fondly at his tengu. Haruka shifted uneasily under his gaze.

"You don't understand."

"What don't I understand?" he asked, "Tell me, so I will."

"I have to go. I've stayed too long."

"I never knew there was a limit to how long you could stay," he spoke softly, not meaning to instigate.

"There is," Haruka answered sharply, not liking the situation at all, "and it's past time for me to go."

"Do you have to?"

Haruka looked away. "Yes."

"Isn't there any other way?"

"No."

"If it makes you happy then…" he almost choked on his suppressed tears. Something was clawing at him from the inside, and it hurt. He didn't want his tengu to go, not now, and not ever, but how could he say no if he was asking it of him? How could he ever refuse him?

He couldn't.

"If it makes Haruka-chan happy…" he inhaled deeply, knowing he would regret it for the rest of his life, "then I cannot refuse. I release you from my service, Haruka. You are free to go."

The tengu bowed, surprising even himself, and offered a sincere thanks before spreading his wings and flying away.

--

When Youko-chan came back several hours later, she only needed to see the state Kantaro was in before everything clicked into place. "He's gone hasn't he?" she asked, "Why didn't you stop him?"

"I tried…demo," he looked up at her, his eyes bloodshot and his face tear-stained from many hours of weeping, "I couldn't refuse him. Not when he wanted to go so badly."

"You could've made him stay. He would've obeyed. Why?" she asked, gathering him gently in her arms.

"Sometimes when you love something, you need to let it go. And I love him and want him to be happy."

"My poor Kan-chan," she whispered rocking him gently, "my poor, poor master."

--


End file.
